Washington (CNN) - Hours before the president was scheduled to give his State of the Union address, the new House Republican majority approved a resolution pledging to cut non-security federal spending to "2008 levels or less." GOP aides said that could mean about $60 billion in savings.

The vote was largely along party lines, 256-165. Seventeen House Democrats voted with the Republicans on the measure.
Democrats argued that the resolution gives unprecedented power to the new House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, because it lets him set the new government funding levels without any committee vote or other House action. They accused Republicans of putting politics ahead of policy by holding the vote on the same day that Ryan was scheduled to give the Republican response to the president's address.

Referring to Ryan, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer told reporters, "the founding fathers did not contemplate one person out of 435 setting policy for the country, or for the House of Representatives more narrowly."

But Ryan countered that it was the Congressional Democrats' own failure to pass a budget last year that forced Republicans to take action to begin the process of reining in spending.

"The reason this is necessary is unprecedented. It is unprecedented since the 1974 budget act passed that Congress didn't bother to pass or even propose a budget," Ryan argued on the House floor. "With no budget in place there's no budget act to enforce."

"We're five months into the new fiscal year and we are in the process of cleaning up the mess that was handed to us," California Republican David Dreier said.

The government is currently operating under a temporary funding resolution that expires in early March. While the GOP resolution approved Tuesday promises to roll back government spending, it doesn't set an overall spending limit for the remainder of the fiscal year. Democrats seized on this point.

"We asked yesterday and instead [Republicans] produced what is likely the first budget resolution in history that doesn't contain any budget numbers, and that might be because the Republican majority can't figure out what the numbers should be," Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern said.

Republicans stressed that they are still committed to cutting non defense spending by $100 billion or more, and this resolution was simply the beginning of the process to make good on that promise.

"We are getting ourselves on a path toward fiscal responsibility and I believe that is one of the most important things we can do," Dreier explained.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is expected to release its annual budget deficit figures on Wednesday, which traditionally set the baseline for Congressional committees to begin drafting their annual budget resolutions.

The top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland, criticized the GOP for moving ahead without the nonpartisan CBO numbers.

"A little later today the President of the United States will be here to deliver the State of the Union Address and instead of being serious about this number, they want to deliver a press release, " Van Hollen said, adding, "I mean that is what this is about without a number. Otherwise we would wait 24 hours and our friends could tell us what that number would be."

Ryan noted the CBO number is expected Wednesday, but stressed "business as usual has to come to end," a theme he will likely stress in his response to the president Tuesday night.

soundoff(9 Responses)

w l jones

Here we go again at a time when the country just turn the corner on resseion the Repub. voted to cut spending by $ 60 billion mean $420 billion the unemployd people can ill aford.,over all from being hired.

January 25, 2011 07:12 pm at 7:12 pm |

maria

I want to see deep spending cuts begin at the top...other than our Pres/family. They are poorly paid considering other country leaders.
Freeze every person in the House and Senate, starting with the leaders, committee leaders and all others. Freeze spending for absolutely every Secy of every Dept of the Administration. Cut their staff support by half. And do this all the way down the line to those only working at poverty levels (like some staf/interns,et al). Then sit back and oversee every single money item, line by line before cutting everything else. Leaving toilet paper may be OK, but having private cafeterias, underground transportation, private cars, airplanes, special service guards, secret service after retirement...I mean every single line. Revisit service terms...one of our huge problems is having a Congress with so many old people stuck in old ruts. We need new blood and new ideas. We don't need old white men to keep around for "historical" purposes...oh, gosh, gee who will teach the newcomers the ropes? Well, get this right. The newcomers have a much better sense of current history than maybe a handful of Congress...Lieberman most of all. We have books, computers, and Kindles for historical research. If the President needs special consultants on specific issues, let him/her pay for it on their own. All those (private)consultants/lobbyists drive the parties/country apart and none of them try to think in terms about what might make this country get back on track.

January 25, 2011 07:25 pm at 7:25 pm |

GL

A little later today the President of the United States will be here to deliver the State of the Union Address and instead of being serious about this number, they want to deliver a press release, " Van Hollen said, adding, "I mean that is what this is about without a number. Otherwise we would wait 24 hours and our friends could tell us what that number would be."

Same as the Republicans health care bill that did not have any numbers. Republicans talk that talk, but never walk that walk.

January 25, 2011 07:29 pm at 7:29 pm |

carrotroot

They GOP better start abiding to their own resolutions. Because right now the Republicans are wasting time revisiting of Health care debate.

January 25, 2011 07:35 pm at 7:35 pm |

they call me "tater salad"

Ok boy's, lets do it your way and lets cut spending, shall we?..........Hmmm...........Lets see........Oh, how about we start with Iraq and Afghanistan? .........Huh?.......... What was that?...........You'll have to speak up, I can't hear you over all the crickets!!!

January 25, 2011 07:41 pm at 7:41 pm |

Seattle Sue

I hope they do a better job of cutting than they did under 8 years of Bush.

January 25, 2011 07:43 pm at 7:43 pm |

they call me "tater salad"

Yep, The GOP wants to cut spending yet they're perfectly fine with putting $700 Billion into the pockets of the ultra-wealthy so they can continue to take their morning dump on a $5k toilet seat as opposed to having to make the sacrifice and settling for the $3k toilet seat instead! ............You dopes voted for this!.................Enjoy!!!!

January 25, 2011 07:58 pm at 7:58 pm |

Gregory

Here's the idiocy of all this: Everyone wants the gov't to cut spending but don't want any cuts to the military, social security, roads & bridges, medicare, medicaid etc. They're all for cutting the arts, culture, the environment which is miniscule compared to the others and would hardly impact the deficit at all. This is the hypocrisy or Americans. It was personified recently when everyone wanted tax cuts under Bush and did not want to pay for the invasion of Iraq (but supported it). A war with tax breaks for all. Dumb is as dumb is the American citizen.

January 25, 2011 08:19 pm at 8:19 pm |

T'sah from Virginia

CUT, cut, CUT, cut, CUT, cut, CUT!!! How do you spell CUT RepubliCAN'Ts??? How do you spell JOBS RepubliCAN'Ts???? Jeez!